[House Report 107-500]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-500
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MARTIN'S COVE LAND TRANSFER ACT
_______
June 11, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4103]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4103) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to transfer
certain public lands in Natrona County, Wyoming, to the
Corporation of the Presiding Bishop, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Martin's Cove Land Transfer Act''.
SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE TO THE CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDING BISHOP.
(a) Conveyance Required.--Notwithstanding the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Secretary of the
Interior (hereafter in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'')
shall offer to convey to the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop, all
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the public
lands identified for disposition on the map entitled ``Martin's Cove
Land Transfer Act'' numbered MC/0002, and dated May 17, 2002, for the
purpose of public education, historic preservation, and the enhanced
recreational enjoyment of the public. Such map shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the offices of the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management and the Lander District of the Bureau of Land
Management.
(b) Consideration.--
(1) In general.--The Corporation of the Presiding Bishop
shall pay to the United States an amount equal to the historic
fair market value of the property conveyed under this section,
including any improvements to that property.
(2) Determination of fair market value.--Not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall determine the historic fair market value of the property
conveyed under this section, including any improvements to the
property.
(c) Access Agreement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Corporation of the
Presiding Bishop shall enter into an agreement, binding on any
successor or assignee, that ensures that the property conveyed shall,
consistent with the historic purposes of the site--
(1) be available in perpetuity for public education and
historic preservation; and
(2) provide to the public, in perpetuity and without charge,
access to the property conveyed.
(d) Right of First Refusal.--As a condition of any conveyance under
this section, the Secretary shall require that the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints and its current or future affiliated
corporations grant the United States a right of first refusal to
acquire all right, title, and interest in and to the property conveyed
under this section, at historic fair market value, if the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or any of its current or future
affiliated corporations seeks to dispose of any right, title, or
interest in or to the property.
(e) Disposition of Proceeds.--Proceeds of this conveyance shall be
used exclusively by the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center
Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit corporation located in Casper, Wyoming,
for the sole purpose of advancing the public understanding and
enjoyment of the National Historic Trails System in accordance with
subsection (f).
(f) Use of Proceeds.--Funds shall be used by the Foundation only for
the following purposes and according to the following priority:
(1) To complete the construction of the exhibits connected
with the opening of the National Historic Trails Center
scheduled for August 2002.
(2) To maintain, acquire, and further enhance the exhibits,
artistic representations, historic artifacts, and grounds of
the Center.
(g) No Precedent Set.--This Act does not set a precedent for the
resolution of land sales between or among private entities and the
United States.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4103 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to transfer certain public lands in Natrona County,
Wyoming, to the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop, and for
other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Pioneer companies of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) first
began making the difficult trek from the Midwestern United
States to the Rocky Mountains in 1846 in an effort to avoid
intense religious persecution. Between 1856 and 1860, ten
pioneer handcart companies of Latter-Day Saints made their way
from Iowa City, Iowa, and Florence, Nebraska, to the Salt Lake
Valley. Two of these companies, known as the Willie Company and
the Martin Company, were overcome and became stranded due to
deep snow and freezing temperatures. The companies had little
food and inadequate clothing for the intense weather
conditions. Along the Sweetwater River in the State of Wyoming,
the Martin Company sought refuge in a protected area later
named Martin's Cove. As they fought against the weather
conditions, 135 to 150 members of their party perished along
the trail.
The Martin's Cove area is typified by remote, undeveloped
land with sagebrush and high desert vegetation having
negligible resource value. While Martin's Cove was first listed
on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, it is 1 of
31 sites listed in Natrona County, Wyoming alone, and over
75,000 nationally. Of primary historical interest and
significance to Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church) and of limited importance to the
general public, it is located more than two miles away and on
the opposite side of the Sweetwater River from historic
emigrant trails of broader national significance such as the
Oregon Trail.
Until 1996, public access to the Martin's Cove site,
located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, was very
limited due to the need to cross private land known as the Sun
Ranch. When access was permitted, visitors were charged as much
as $30 dollars by the private land owners. Martin's Cove was
not deemed by the BLM to be of sufficient public interest for
it to devote any resources to make it more accessible. For
example, the BLM did not make even minimal efforts to place
signage to try to prevent undue degradation of the site by
vehicles driving into the Cove.
In 1996, the LDS Church acquired the Sun Ranch and signed a
cooperative agreement with the BLM facilitating free public
access. Church-coordinated volunteers then spent more than
31,000 man hours making the site accessible by building a trail
and replacing a bridge, establishing a visitor center, and
constructing public restrooms and campground sites. In order to
develop the trail, because the BLM did not have the resources
to do so, the LDS church paid for a needed archaeological
survey that did not involve large scale excavation. The LDS
church has since maintained a full time force of volunteers at
the visitor center for public interpretation, education, site
maintenance and visitor assistance.
Not long after its acquisition of the ranch, the LDS Church
expressed its interest in acquiring the Cove property as well
through an administrative land exchange with the BLM. However,
those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful in spite of five
years of repeated attempts to identify lands acceptable by the
BLM for exchange elsewhere.
H.R. 4103 would direct the Secretary of Interior to convey
approximately 940 acres of the Martin's Cove area to the
Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the LDS Church in
exchange for fair market value consideration (not including the
value of improvements already paid for by the church) and the
agreement that the lands be managed consistent with their
historical character and remain accessible to the public at no
charge. The bill would further grant the federal government the
first right of refusal to repurchase the lands should the
church wish to dispose of the lands in the future, and allows
the proceeds from the sale to remain within the State of
Wyoming for uses by the National Historic Trails Interpretive
Center Foundation.
H.R. 4103 follows other precedents in providing for the
conveyance of federal lands deemed to be of unique religious or
cultural importance to a particular group. For example, the
Zuni and Havasupai Indian tribes in Arizona, and the Ho Chunk
Nation in Wisconsin, have had federal lands conveyed to them
for religious and cultural reasons.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4103 was introduced on April 9, 2002 by Congressman
James V. Hansen (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On May 4, 2002,
the Subcommittee held a legislative field hearing on the bill
in Casper, Wyoming. This Subcommittee held a second hearing in
Washington on May 16, 2002. On May 22, the Full Committee met
to mark up the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from
further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent.
Congresswoman Barbara Cubin (R-WY) offered an amendment in the
nature of a substitute to: (1) narrow the size of the site to
be conveyed; (2) require the parties to enter into an access
agreement to provide that the property conveyed would,
consistent with the historic purposes of the site, be available
in perpetuity for the purposes of public education and historic
preservation, and to provide to the public free access, in
perpetuity, to the site; (3) provide the federal government
with a right of first refusal should the church ever decide to
divest itself of the property; and (4) to direct the proceeds
to trail purposes in Wyoming. It was adopted by voice vote.
There were no further amendments and the bill, as amended, was
then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives
by voice vote.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures. While H.R. 4103 would affect
direct spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office,
it would have no significant impact on the federal budget.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 28, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman. The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4103, the Martin's
Cove Land Transfer Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
H.R. 4103--Martin's Cove Land Transfer Act
CBO estimates that H.R. 4103 would have no significant
impact on the federal budget. The bill would affect spending
(including offsetting receipts); therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would apply, but we estimate that any such impacts
would be negligible. H.R. 4103 contains no intergovernmental or
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act and would have no significant impact on the budgets
of state, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 4103 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
convey to the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop (the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; also known as the Mormon
Church) 940 acres of federal lands located in Natrona County,
Wyoming. The corporation would pay the historic fair market
value of those lands. Under the bill, net proceeds from the
sale would be used by the National Historic Trails Interpretive
Center Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, to complete and
operate a facility designed to interpret the experience of
emigrants who traveled through Wyoming during the nineteenth
century on several national historic trails.
The lands that would be sold under H.R. 4103 are listed on
the National Register of Historic Sites. According to the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency has no plans to
sell the lands, which currently generate no significant
receipts and are not expected to in the future. Based on
information from BLM, we estimate that the sale would increase
offsetting receipts by $200,000 in 2003. That amount would be
fully offset by a corresponding increase in direct spending in
2003 to pay a portion of those proceeds to Natrona County, with
the remaining balance transferred to the National Historic
Trails Interpretive Center Foundation.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.